"Bring Stefan Back Fanfiction Challenge"       Nothing Gold Can Stay   By Barky   September 10th 2003 She moved us again in the night. From the dialect of our guards I presume we have been returned to Switzerland. I feel there must be a method in my mother's madness. My brother and I are too well acquainted with this compound for Helena to risk our escape without good reason. October 1st 2003 Now I see my mother's purpose and my blood lies frozen in my veins. Much like the picture of Dorian Grey, Helena's evil deeds and cruel mind games have taken their toll. She has finally lost control of her mind. She means to restore the Cassadine family by cloning Father. Her doctors have her convinced this is possible with the extraction of certain properties in the DNA of both my brother and myself. Stavros and I have both examined the research as well as the raw data and have come to the same conclusion. The work is bogus and their research falsified in order to secure billions of dollars from the Cassadine estate which mother has been embezzling for years. Unless Stavros and I are able to escape and put an end to her insanity I fear the entire Cassadine family will be lost. St. Ceril's Monastery: The scrape of oak against the bare floor wakes Stefan from a dream of blueberries and sea breeze. He slowly swings his legs over the side of his bed and looks to the doorway that separates his cell from his brother's. "Game?" Stavros motions to the chess board which sits always between them. "Of course." After all of the years playing, Stefan stopped keeping score. What did it matter when there were so many subjects two prisoners could discuss over a small chess board in the one place of their room the video surveillance equipment did not have a clear line of sight. Stavros was waiting for him at the table dressed only in a pair of loose fitting pajama bottoms and a feverish glaze in his eyes. Stavros' body temperature seemed to run consistently at 102 degrees. A side effect no doubt of Helena's experiments. With medication the side effects were negligible. And since Stavros was dependent on his medication Helena enjoyed using it to reward or withholding it to punish depending solely on her whims. "You may be interested to know, she leaves tonight." Stavros comments as he begins setting out the ebony pieces on his side of the board. "You should be honored. What I understand from our mutual acquaintance is that she is attending your funeral." "Oh? And where am I to be laid to rest? Greece?" "Hardly. You're to be buried in Port Charles." Stefan makes a sound that is suspiciously close to a snort. "One final indignity. You would think they would at least have the courtesy to put me in the family crypt." Stavros shrugs and makes the opening move. "Perhaps the icebox is full?" "You have always had the most deplorable gallows humor." "I've never actually been to the gallows before brother dear. Thrown down a flight of stairs, impaled on my own 14th c. dagger, and hurled down a 'bottomless' pit yes. But never hung." "You have always borne an uncanny resemblance to Mussolini. Perhaps your loathing of piano as a boy was an indication of your future." "You're quite droll tonight Stefan. What has you in such good spirits?" "Contemplating the satisfaction I will derive from smashing your skull into the floor." Stefan smiles around the words, baring his teeth. "Now, now brother. Remember. If you truly render me unconscious you'll have to carry me down the mountain on your back." "Or dispose of your body half way down and call it a 'tragic' accident." Stefan returns. He counters Stavros' move. "Are you sure he can secure enough of your medication in the time he has?" "I believe he's sufficiently motivated." Stavros' smile is dark and disturbing. "I told him that if he fails he will simply be left behind to face Mother's wrath by himself." "I have no intention of leaving him behind… I would sooner leave you." Stefan spits the words out. "You miss the point Stefan. I was motivating the boy. Fear is a great motivator." "He has suffered more than enough at the hands of this family and I will not allow you…" "YOU will not allow ME?" Stavros overturns the chess board and looms over Stefan. He lifts his hand to strike a swift blow across Stefan's cheek. "YOU forget YOUR place! You are NOTHING!" Without breaking stride Stavros crosses into his brother's cell setting off the alarm and advances on Stefan who is sprawled on the floor. "You do not exist but for my good will. You pathetic… worthless…" He lifts his foot to kick Stefan, only for Stefan to spring up and charge at him, tackling Stavros around the waist and hurling him up against the wall. "You forget your place! Your place is buried in a hole that was to have been too deep for you to climb out of!" Getting a grip on his brother's hair, Stefan slammed Stavros' head against the wall just as the guards burst in. They made the first leg of their journey in absolute silence. It wasn't until they'd reached American soil and Stavros was beginning to convulse that Lucky broke the silence. "If it were up to me I wouldn't lift a finger to help you. I'd let you die and consider it my gift to my mother and the rest of the world." Kneeling beside Stavros he keeps eye contact at all times. "Only two things are keeping me from letting you die and you need to remember what they are. One is my brother. That's right. Nikolas Cassadine is Lucky Spencer's brother. I'll do everything I can to protect him even if that means protecting him from you. Don't ever try and get between us or you'll regret it. Two, I am nothing like your mother. I don't enjoy watching anyone suffer whether it's a dog in the road or even you." He dropped Stavros' medication on the floor of the jet and stepped off the plane. Stefan waited until Stavros was able to sit up by himself. "The boy can be most erudite when the occasion warrants." "Yes. Public education has done wonders for the lower classes." Stavros returns dryly. "Now give me your hand." He hesitates for more than a moment before reaching down and pulling his brother to his feet. "There is one stop I must make before we return to the island." "Oh? Last minute Christmas shopping?" Stefan smiles grimly. "Hardly. If the good people of Port Charles have gone to the effort and expense to give me a proper burial it would seem ill mannered of me not to attend." Cemetery: Standing on the perimeter of the cemetery, 'Lucky Spencer' kept a watchful eye out for his father. He knew Luke wouldn't be able to resist attending Stefan's funeral. It would be the perfect opportunity to catch Luke before he went underground as only he could. His attention is so closely focused on finding Luke that he doesn't realize the genuine danger until it's directly beside him. It's the smell of European tobacco that gives him away. The scent is stronger, even more acrid than the American cigarettes he's become accustomed to in his time in the states. "Good day for a funeral don't you think?" Turning, he is confronted with almost exactly his own face. Slightly thinner, shorter, and with blonde/brown hair brushing well past his collar. "Who are you?" "Well, that's a very good question." He stubbed out the cigarette on a marble angel. "Depends on who you're asking. To most people here I suspect I'm a ghost. But to you? I'm just the guy whose life you've been living for the last few years." Lucky eyes his double critically. "And not all that successfully if you don't mind me saying so. A cop? You've got to be kidding me." The double shrugs. "It has its advantages." Reaching back into his holster he produces a standard issue police firearm. "Like you get to play with guns." "Huh. I always thought that was a perk of being a Spencer. See, you've got the look- sort of. And you might even have the voice but you're missing some of the nuance. The subtleties of me if you will." "Are you here to try and take me out or are you going to try and bore me to death with a critique?" "Didn't Helena teach you anything? Half the fun of mortal combat is the banter." Lucky waved the barrel of the gun away from his face as though swatting a fly. "Actually I came by to do you a favor, which I think you'll admit is pretty damn generous of me. You see, since I'm out there isn't any real reason for you to be hanging around. There can be only one of us you know." "And what makes you so sure that she won't kill you and let me have your life?" "Because she's only had the last five years to kill me if she wanted me dead and so far zip. Zilch. I'm still here. You're the Greek equivalent of a red shirt. You're always going to be the one that gets it in the end. I just thought you might like to get a running start before she gets here." Lucky lights up another cigarette. "I know what you're thinking. Or rather, I know what I'd be thinking if I were you and I guess technically I am. We're thinking 'Well why don't I just shoot him and tell Helena he was never here?' Am I right? I know I am I can read me like a book. But the problem with that is that she'll probably be even MORE pissed if you kill me than she will be if you run. If you start now you can be in Albany in about three hours but if I start screaming and get the police involved in this mess- you're bound to get shanked in jail. So it's up to you." "Alexis. I'm glad you changed your mind." Alexis grips Nikolas' hand tightly. "When I was a little girl Stefan would sneak dessert up to my room against Helena's orders. If it had been up to her I never would have gone to college. She didn't think I could do it. That it was a waste of Stefan's money. He never once felt that way about me. Stefan thought I was brilliant." She looked sadly to Stefan's casket. "And I always believed him, until now." "We have to be strong Alexis. Especially now." Looking over Nikolas' shoulder, Alexis asks. "When did Scott Baldwin show up?" "I don't know. I'll ask him to leave. But I want you to remember what I said. We can be strong and everything will work out." "I miss him." Alexis confesses. "I just want to open my eyes and have this whole damned nightmare over." With a final squeeze of Alexis' hands, Nikolas pulls himself away to address Scott. "What are you doing here Baldwin? This is a private service for friends and family only." "Too bad. I want to catch Luke Spencer and everyone knows that he wouldn't miss this for all the world." "Just keep your men out of our way and don't interrupt the service." "Yea yea. Sure." "Good evening everyone." Helena steps through the gates dressed in a tasteful black dress with the appropriate pearls. "I understand we are gathered here today to pay our respects to my dearly departed Stefan." "Grandmother!" "Hello Nikolas my darling." Helena's voice is the softest coo. "I've come to lend you my support. Stefan might have been a worthless weakling but I know you were as fond of him as anyone ever could be." "You're not welcome here Grandmother. You have no place with the Cassadine family and as long as I live you never will again." "Now now Nikolas. Don't let's be hasty. I will always have a place with this family. Not even you can deny me that sweet Prince. But now is not the time to discuss these things. Someone has finally succeeded in putting my son in a casket. I think it only fair to honor them. Perhaps a standing ovation?" At Nikolas' thunderous expression, Helena merely chuckles. "Perhaps not. But you can't deny me this one small pleasure Nikolas. I've lost both my dear Mikkos and beloved Stavros to Luke Spencer, it would be rude of me not to support him now that he's gotten it right at long last!" "Fine. Stay. But once the service is over I want you out of Port Charles on the next broomstick." Nikolas lashes out. "You have *no* place here." Helena spies Alexis and Cameron huddled together. "Little mouse. Oh little mouse. How you've grown. Motherhood agrees with you. Or should I say supervised, limited motherhood agrees with you. It's so nice to know that the state is willing to intervene in cases such as yours. Now if only they would be as willing to keep your kind from breeding in the first place then there might be genuine progress in this country." "Do not speak to me." Alexis snaps. "How is that little girl of yours Alexis? A sweet faced little thing if I recall correctly. A weak heart I understand. Such a pity. A frail thing like that…" She snapped her fingers. "Could go just like that. I imagine were she to come from better genetic stock she would have a fighting chance, but with you as the mother and that dreadful little man as the baby's father. Not to mention the fact she is named after that sister of yours who met such an unfortunate end… Kristina was it? I don't like your daughter's chances of survival at all." Alexis raised her hand only to have it caught in Cameron's iron grip. "Alexis you have an audience. Don't give Skye the satisfaction of losing it." Cameron hissed into Alexis' ear before turning his attention on Helena. "And you must be Helena Cassadine. I have to admit I've been most curious to meet you. The scorned wife of a renowned adulterer and rejected mother of not one, but two sons. I would have thought the sheer humiliation of having been bested by a common thug like Luke Spencer would be too much for you. If I were in your place I don't think I would show my face." Helena's fingers reached out and carefully adjusted Cameron's necktie with fastidious attention. "Yes, it's true. I don't hold the same distinction as you Dr. Lewis. I've never actually succeeded in killing one of my sons. I imagine my humiliation would only be greater if I had driven one son to put a bullet through his skull and forced the other one to become a common drug dealer." She brightened. "We all have our crosses to bear." "Please. Mother. In the interest of public decency I would prefer you not bare anything." "Add my voice to that plea." Stavros adds from his place beside Stefan. "Stefan!" Nikolas and Alexis cry out as one, but while Nikolas stumbles at the sight of his father, Alexis rushes to Stefan's side. "I knew- I knew that thing couldn't be you. I knew it." Laying her hand on the side of Stefan's face, Alexis smiles through her tears. "I should have known sooner. But as soon as Nikolas and I figured it out we had investigators looking for you all over the world, but by then the trail had grown cold in Milan. It was like you were never there." Stefan accepted Alexis' embrace, tucking her securely under his arm, while never removing his gaze from his mother. "Mother, how nice of you to attend." "I can promise you this Stefan, I will never miss another opportunity to put you in the ground." Helena looks to Stavros. "Et tu Stavros? How are those nasty little convulsions of yours my darling? You know I'm the only one who can successfully control those particular side effects." "So I'm to stay and be your lapdog for eternity?" Helena's eyes narrow. "Better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven." Throwing back his head, Stavros laughs deeply. "It all depends on your perspective Mother. Personally I can't think of any place better fitting Milton's description of hell than Port Charles." "I assume Lucky is with you?" "Well he'd damn well better be." Luke stepped out of the Cassadine family crypt and confronted Stefan. "So Vlad. Nice to see you're embracing the cliché and attending your own funeral. Are we channeling our inner Tom Sawyer today?" He looked around. "Where's my kid?" "Lucky and I parted ways once the jet touched down in Port Charles. I have no idea where he is." Stefan answered already pulling Alexis away from Stavros in case Luke decided to go on the offensive and kill Stavros on the spot, or visa versa. "Good thing you showed up when you did. I was starting to get bored." "Forgive me if my captivity was dull for you Spencer. Perhaps you should take up a hobby. Might I suggest Russian roulette?" "And what's with the Popsicle? Don't any Cassadines stay dead anymore?" "You've always been a model of ineptitude Spencer. But I must say in this case you were outnumbered and not just outwitted. My mother has had a team of some of the most gifted doctors and scientists working to bring my father back to life." "Hey! No fair! She's bringin' 'em back faster than I can kill 'em!" "You know, you get kidnapped and go away for four or five years and you get back and almost nothing's changed." "Lucky? Cowboy? Is that really you?" "You were expecting some evil clone hell bent on destroying my life? Really dad, you've got to stop being so paranoid. Things like that only happen on television." "WAIT A MINUTE! HOLD UP! Does someone want to tell me what the hell is going on here?" Scott bellowed at the top of his lungs. "Why isn't Cassadine dead? Why aren't they both dead? Who's this? Where's Lucky?" Luke's: "How did you know it wasn't me?" Lucky propped his feet up on the edge of his dad's desk. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Luke pours two drinks and delivers one to Lucky. "It was ol' Skillethead. Helena's fake didn't like Foster." "That's *IT*? It never, I don't know, occurred to you that I'd grown about 5 inches?" "That and the fact he never once picked up your guitar." Luke shrugged. "I knew he was a fake, it was just a matter of finding out where she was holding you." Luke swallowed the lump in his throat and chased it with half the contents of his glass. "I'm sorry Cowboy…" "There's nothing for you to be sorry about." Lucky answers slowly. "Not anymore. The only thing I regret is that I couldn't be here for Mom when she needed me." "You can't help your mom Lucky. Neither can Nikolas and neither can I. If Laura wants out of hell, this time she has to find her own way out." Luke scrubbed a hand over his face. "The more I try to help her the further I push her the worse things get." There is a thoughtful silence between father and son which Lucky reluctantly breaks. "And Lesley Lu?" "Your sister's amazing. Smartest, prettiest little thing in the world…" "Not that you're biased or anything." "Nothin' wrong with stating the facts." "Where is she?" "Right now? She's holed up in Beecher's Corners with your grandmother. Lesley got her license back and she's opened up her own little country doctor's office out there. If you want I can give Leslie a call and have her bring Lu home." "I'd like that. Does she understand any of this?" "Not much. When your mom first lost touch with reality," Luke rolled his glass between the palms of his hands. "I suppose I did too. I started acting crazy. No, that's not exactly right. I went crazy. It wasn't an act at first. But then I realized that being crazy gave me some serious freedom." "Like Hamlet." "Sort of. I had more time to spend looking for you." "And that's where Stefan came in?" "He left town specifically to try and track down the missing Cassadine money, and I was sure that money would lead us to wherever the hell Helena had you." "I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the idea of you and Stefan working together for anything." Lucky confides before finishing his drink. "Yeah well, Vlad had to appreciate the irony. Hell musta frozen over somewhere in the world that day. Of course he had to go and screw it up and get himself trapped. And Stavros was never part of the deal." Lucky nodded. "I figured not. But we couldn't have escaped without him. He's the one with the key to all the money Helena's been stealing not to mention I overheard him talking to Stefan &endash; he had investments all over the world back before he 'died' the first time. All of them have just been sitting there for the last twenty years…" "You know what? Right now I don't give a @#%$ about the Cassadines." Luke brushed Lucky's face. "My son is home. Let the Cassadines rot in their own hell for once I've got better things to think about. Welcome home Lucky." Lifting his glass, Lucky toasted his father. "Thanks Dad." Wyndemere: "You can't seriously be considering letting him stay *here*?" Nikolas questions Stefan. "Uncle!" "I am in the room Nikolas. There's no reason to be impolite." "No reason to be impolite. The last time you were in this house you murdered Chloe. Or don't you remember that?" Nikolas demanded of his father. "You are not welcome under this roof." "That matter is between myself and Stefan. I will not answer to you Nikolas, under any circumstances. You are still the head of this family, but only because I choose it. You don't have to like me, that will come in time but you will respect my place in this family and you will respect me." "Respect is earned." "Do you see Stefan? Do you see what you have wrought with my son? You've spoiled him into thinking he is an American. Respect is what you give your mother and father because without them you would not exist in this world. Respect is what you will give me because I hold the power in this family and because I am willing to overlook certain, indiscretions on the part of the others in your name. I am willing to let my father's bastard enter my home. I am willing to allow the brother who cuckolded me serve as your right arm. And I am willing to forget that you raised your voice to me." Stavros prowled the library, his hands folded behind his back. "Nikolas this is what duty consists of. This is the meaning of loyalty. This is sacrifice in the name of the greater good, namely our family." Stavros motioned to Stefan. "Your Uncle loathes me. And I despise him. We could have easily killed one another during our months of captivity…" "But it would have been pointless." Stefan added mildly before pouring himself a brandy. "Instead we pooled our resources and our information in order to survive and ultimately escape because it was in the best interests of you and the rest of the family." Stefan seated himself before the fireplace. "This is what I've endeavored to teach you throughout your life. I am afraid I have failed. You consider yourself free to do as you please with little to no consequence to anyone else. That is not the case. You are not free when you hold the fiscal and social well being of several thousand members of your family in the palm of your hand." Stavros settled finally in the chair across from Stefan. "The simple truth of the matter Nikolas is this &endash; you may either lead this family in the direction you believe best for everyone involved or you will step down and follow where I lead. The choice is yours." Nikolas is silent before leaning over and embracing Stefan. "It's late and I have a lot to think about. But I'm glad you're finally home Stefan. I'll see you in the morning." Once Nikolas is gone, Alexis pours herself another brandy and raises her glass in a mock toast to her brothers. "Several Ivy League educations between you, at least a dozen foreign languages, you were locked up together for almost a year and the best argument you could come up with was 'lead, follow or get the @#%$ out of the way'?" "Nikolas grasps the point. That's all that matters." Alexis finished her drink and carefully laid down her glass. "Nikolas was right about one thing. It is late and I should be going home." She paused at the doorway. "One last thing Stavros. I am no 'little mouse' anymore. If you call me a bastard again or ever refer to my mother in any way I'll kill you in such a way that not even your dear sweet mother could ever revive you." "You can't stay here." Stefan announced. "I have no intention of living under your thumb Stefan." Stavros answers agreeably. "But you told Nikolas." "I wanted to make the point to Nikolas that I *could* stay here if I so choose. I've made housing arrangements that are more to my liking." "The large appliance department of Wyndham's?" Stefan rose from his seat and replaced his glass on the bar. "We should begin emptying Helena's accounts in the morning." "Agreed." Luke's Office: Sitting in his favorite chair, Luke lit another cigar and rummaged through the bowels of his desk. Finding what he was looking for, he withdrew two heavy leather bound journals and opened up to the first of many marked pages. He'd lifted the journals while he had been stuck in the lake house. At first they were just entertainment to take his mind off the boredom. But the more he read the more he learned. So when Skye had finally tossed him out for good, he'd brought the books with him. January 15th 1968 I've just come from the most delightful party at Kristin's. She threw it in celebration of her 25th birthday. She's always said that if she can't celebrate the day she was born, then there must be something terribly wrong. Mikkos was of course livid as usual. Kristin had no sooner blown out the candles on her birthday cake, not an especially easy task when one is several months pregnant, when Mikkos came storming in and ordered us all to leave the villa. I have no idea what dear Kristin could possibly see in Mikkos. He lacks Victor's intelligence and wit as well as Tony's natural good looks and charm. We were all very shocked when she returned Mikkos' attentions. She's such a sweet, spontaneous girl. A poor match for someone as dour and paranoid as Mikkos. But for all our sakes I'm pleased that he's found her. Now none of us have to trek out to the middle of nowhere and be subjected to that horrid Ice Princess he married. Helena Stanislaus is unbearable in anything but the most miniscule of increments. At any rate, Mikkos lectured us all ad nauseum about maintaining Kristin's privacy. Like all men he loves his mistress yet fears his wife. I can't imagine why he'd fear her, it's not as though Helena has any time to exact revenge. She's stuck on that horrid little island raising Mikkos' spawn. I thank God every day that Daddy didn't manage to marry me off to Mikkos the way he wanted to, I am relieved beyond words not to be tucked away caring for some man's sons. I prefer a life lived for myself and myself alone thank you very much. And I will never understand why Kristin &endash; who is the talk of the opera world would wish to have yet *another* of Mikkos' bastards. Natasha, the girl is a nice enough child I suppose. She's pretty and endearing and all the nice things little girls should be, but she is still a *child* an eternal obligation. I would feel smothered by anything so permanent and yet Kristin has taken to motherhood like the proverbial duck to water. But I've gotten off track, the party was lovely. Kristin couldn't wait to show off Mikkos' latest bauble, a gorgeous diamond and black pearl necklace that must have cost him a small fortune. From Tony she received a beautiful pair of white horses and a handmade sleigh. Tony's always been more of a romantic than a pragmatist, what on earth would a woman who's several months pregnant want with a team of horses? Victor arrived at the party with his new love, an American painter from New York named Melanie. They presented Kristin with a portrait done from a photograph taken during one of Kristin's performances. I must say Melanie captured the moment perfectly, she seems very talented and Victor is clearly besotted. Mikkos notwithstanding the entire evening was a success! A. February 14th 1968 Valentine's Day and love is in the air around the world! I can't help but sound giddy, tonight over dinner Adam finally proposed. In three months with the Whitman/Chandler merger goes through I will be Mrs. Adam Chandler! Everything seems too good to be true. Not just here at home, but also in Vienna for my friends. Kristin delivered a baby girl today. Both mother and baby are doing just fine! I heard all this not from Kristin herself, I think she's a little otherwise occupied. But from Victor who called with not only news of his latest niece, but also of his own marriage. Victor and Melanie eloped to some small island in the middle of nowhere Canada. I can't imagine what he's thinking. Mikkos won't be happy and one would think that Victor would know by now &endash; if Mikkos isn't happy, then no one is happy. Perhaps Victor thinks that Mikkos will be so thrilled with his new daughter that he won't notice… April 30th 1968 Adam is talking again about having children. Only two months into our marriage. Can't he be satisfied with our life the way it is? Can't he see that we're too young to be tied down forever? I can never tell him the truth. There is no way that we will ever be able to conceive a child no matter how desperately we make love, or how many specialists he insists on sending me to. And I cannot tell him that I am the reason. If I had known in my final year at finishing school what unfortunate consequences could result from a poorly done French abortion I would have reconsidered. Mum says that she will make discreet inquiries about private adoption through her attorney. She agrees that Adam must never know and it would kill my poor father. I've had precious little news from Vienna. Kristin and her daughters have virtually disappeared off the face of the earth. I used to think that Mikkos was being overly protective, but I have been hearing things from Greece that if true send shivers down my spine and makes me fear for my dearest friend. The rumor is that Mikkos' youngest, a somber little boy named Stefan has taken ill, which by itself is hardly surprising, children are practically seething cauldrons of illness. No, the most shocking part is that some of the servants are saying that his own mother is responsible. If this is true I can only imagine what Helena would do to poor Kristin's daughters. All the champagne at dinner must be making me maudlin. I refuse to dwell on these horrid thoughts for another second. If the rumors are true and Helena deliberately tried to kill Stefan Mikkos will deal with her. He wouldn't dream of allowing her to become a threat to his children. As for my own problems, if a child is what Adam needs to make him happy then I will do whatever is necessary to provide him with one. Victor tells me that he and Melanie are expecting twins in the summer. Perhaps he'd be so generous as to part with one! A. June 12th 1968 I can hardly write from shaking. I don't know where to begin. I was just in Vienna visiting Kristin, Natasha and little baby Kristina. It was one of the rare weeks that Mikkos was able to slip away under Helena's radar. Tony brought his latest love a Polish heiress of some sort named of all things, Aphrodite. Victor arrived late as usual but without Melanie. She's unfit to travel in her last trimester. Adam was going to join us all but as usual business for Chandler Enterprises took him off to Japan. But there we were, all of us together having a perfectly lovely week. I must confess, even though I've never longed for children before spending the week with Kristin and her two daughters ignited the tiniest flicker of jealousy in me. One night while Victor regaled us with stories of his latest misadventures in the laboratory, Natasha joined us carrying her baby sister, sitting on the sofa curled between her father and mother. It was a brief moment, just flicker across Kristin's face really, but it was the look of a truly loved and happy woman. Towards the end of the week Mikkos received a phone call and all but vanished in plain sight followed promptly by Tony and Victor. I have no idea what the call was regarding and I have the feeling neither did Kristin. But for the last two days of my visit it was just the two of us. It was wonderful to be young and free if only for a matter of days. There's a poem of Robert Frost's, something that Kristin quoted to me when I was lamenting leaving,, and I think it will haunt me the rest of my life. . . Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leafs a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay. If I'd only known… if I'd known that those would be the last words I ever heard her speak. If I had known that that smile was the last smile I would ever see grace her features. If I'd known she would never wave me off again… If only. Once I learned that my flight out was delayed I called Kristin to see if she would join me for dinner out in the city. Only instead of Kristin, Marta her housekeeper picked up. She was in hysterics and the only sense I could make out of her was that something terrible had happened. When I arrived at the house the paramedics had already taken poor Kristin's body away in an ambulance. There was nothing that could be done to save her. Her throat was slit. I look back on those words now that I've taken something to stop my hands from shaking and feel my stomach churn. Helena slit Kristin's throat. She silenced forever Mikkos' love and my best friend. She stole from the world one of the most beautiful, true voices ever heard. And she has robbed Kristin's daughters of their mother. I asked Marta about the girls. She said that Natasha was taken away by Demetrius Andropolous but that there was no sign of the infant. She assumed Helena had killed the baby as well. One final indignity to a woman who dared love Mikkos. By then I was almost beside myself. I will never know what made me leave the house through the double doors leading out into the gardens. Perhaps I couldn't bring myself to go back through the foyer and see once more the chalk outline of Kristin's body. But as I walked the path around the side of the house I heard the sound of muffled cries coming from the stables. There, tucked in the hay and wrapped in blankets flecked with blood lay Kristina. I had no choice. I brought her back here to the hotel with me. I left no word with anyone. As far as the world is concerned Kristin Bergman killed herself and her infant daughter in a fit of depression. Let them think that. Let Helena think she's won. I know the truth. Kristin lives on in her daughter. She's a piece of my dearest friend and the closest I've ever had to a sister. I've told Adam that I'll be gone for several months, a tour of Europe. He doesn't mind so long as I entertain myself. When I come back it will be with the child he's always wanted. I know it's dishonest but I can't see any other way around it all. I don't trust Mikkos to protect Kristina &endash; he's failed once and it cost Kristin her life. A. A voice in the back of his head told him he had no right to be reading the gin soaked confessions of a woman obviously not in her right mind if the rumors were true, but that wasn't about to stop him. Rocking his chair back on its back two legs, Luke took another sip of Kentucky's finest bourbon, turned the page and continued on. He had a feeling things were bout to get just a little bit more interesting in old Port Chuckles.